Mountain Man Brewing Company|
To:| Chris Prangel|
From:| 001706975|
CC:| David Nasser|
Date:| 3/4/2013|
Re:| Bringing the Brand to Light| Comments:| For the first time in the company’s history, Mountain Man Brewing Company is experiencing declining sales in response to changes in beer drinkers’ preferences. Mr. Prangel’s response to this problem is introducing a “light beer” form of the popular Lager. In the past six years, the “light beer” industry as increased at an annual rate of 4% while sales of traditional beer has been declining annually by 4%. Although this seems like a probable solution, there are two major problems Mr. Prangel is facing: 1.) Mountain Man’s current target market will not approve of this new beer, and 2.) bringing in a light version of the Mountain Man Lager could ruin the brand image and ultimately destroy the company. Mountain Man’s biggest target market currently, and pretty much since it started in 1925, is males ages 45-54. Most of these males are blue-collar, hardworking males. It has been known as “West Virginia’s Beer” known for its authenticity, quality and its toughness. To the younger beer drinkers, the market the light beer appeals to, view Mountain Man beer as too strong and a “working man’s” beer. Not only do the younger beer drinkers have their negative thoughts about Mountain Man developed, but the blue-collar customers account for a huge percentage of sales. The brand loyalty rate for Mountain Man Lager is 53% which is higher than any of its competitors. The “light beer” appeals to the younger generation, especially the females, and Mountain Man Lager has always appealed to the older, rugged, blue-collar male. The appearance of Mr. Prangel’s dilemma is very evident.Based on the evidence, Mountain Man should not introduce the light beer. The light beer industry is growing, that can’t be denied, however for Mountain Man, it is not in their best interest yet. Although the quantitative reasoning is...

YOU MAY ALSO FIND THESE DOCUMENTS HELPFUL

...this is something that doesn’t happen very often, you should know what do if it does.
The best thing is to talk to your instructor about it and tell him/her beforehand that the idea was as much originally yours as it was probably someone else’s. You do not need to mention the source in this case just because something similar is already available. However, make sure you have gone through the policies of your institute about plagiarism.
In case you are working on a professional project, there might not be any policies at all or you might not be aware of them. Even in this case, you should not add inspired content without reference, because your idea/project might be liked so much that it might get in to the official news. You or your company can be sued if the idea originator finds out about this form of plagiarism.
Moreover, in such cases, if you find out that the idea was already proposed and was published before you could do it, it is suggested to back off. You can explain the fact to the other originator of the idea the way you can explain it to the instructor.
Is There a Limit to Citing Sources to Avoid Plagiarism?
When talking about how much content can be taken from a source and cited, it needs to be clarified that only citing sources is not enough. You cannot copy/paste all the stuff and mention references, unless specifically asked by the instructor n case of literature review. Even in that case, explanation of what you found out is more...

...1. What is MountainManBrewing Company’s positioning relative to its competitors?
MountainManBrewingCompany (MMBC) is a 2nd tier domestic beer manufacturer based out of West Virginia. MMBC is positioned as a leader among local brewers in the East Central region, being one of the four regional breweries still operational in West Virginia. MMBC brews only one type of beer – theMountainMan Lager, a dark bitter tasting beer. Target market for the product is middle aged men from the blue collared working class. Branding includes an image of coal miners on the bottle suggesting a strong taste and reinforcing target market segments to a niche. The beer sells mainly in off-premise locations. There is no variant of MountainMan Lager available.
Although MMBC is a local brewer it really competes against national brands such as Anheuser Busch and Coors. Priced at the same level as national brands, MMBC’s product is a legacy brew and enjoys high brand awareness in the regions it sells the beer. The brand also enjoys high brand loyalty in its target market segment against national brands. MMBC has been able to achieve this brand equity without significant spending on traditional advertising but rather pursuing on grass-roots advertising.
The company however is losing market share and revenues in line with the...

...Running Head: MOUNTAINMANMountainManBrewingCompany Case
The purpose of this case study is to explore the implications for expanding the products offered by MountainManBrewingCompany (MMBC) from one product, MountainMan Lager, to adding a Light version of the beer. This paper will evaluate the following:
1. The positioning statement of MMBC; including what has made MMBC successful and how MMBC distinguishes itself from competitors. I will argue that quality and authentic West Virginia family recipe created a brand that differentiates the lager from competitors.
2. How these factors enabled MMBC to create such a strong brand; and why, despite its strong brand, MMBC was experiencing a decline in 2005. I will show that the decline is due to changes in beer drinking patterns, markets, and demographics in the region as well as the U.S. in general.
3. An evaluation of whether or not to launch MountainMan Light. I will explore the pros and cons of creating a light version of the brew and other strategic options for growth if this brand extension is not launched or if the launch is unsuccessful. I will demonstrate that launching a light beer product shows promise for improved profit through 2010, but that another strategy...

...is also a crucial factor Competitive advantages with respect to MMBC are as follows:  A small but competent sales force responsible for increasing distribution in offpremise locations as 60% of customers purchasing beer did so at off-premise locations  Grass-root marketing tactics and word of mouth marketing that emphasised on quality aspects while being most cost-effective  A better regional distribution network coupled with a large customer base
2. Elaborate on the factors influencing brand equity of MMBC. A:  Firmly established brand for 8 decades which commands a large loyal customer base with a legacy factor  Attributes like distinctively bitter taste, slightly higher than average content of alcohol that were unique to the MountainMan Lager brand.  Packaging of beer that was in line with the product positioning for the blue-collared working class (logo with the design of coal miners)  Sticking to the core product of Lager rather than swaying to new emerging markets, i.e. maintaining core product competency  Known as the “West Virginia’s Beer”, with authenticity, quality and “toughness” as the core attributes which the target customer base could relate with  Judged “Best Beer in West Virginia” for the Eighth year straight year, affirming customer faith with respect to product quality and brand name  Increasing product availability in off-premise location through an abled sales force team
3. In spite of strong brand equity...

...has returned home to West Virginia to manage the marketing operations of the MountainMan Beer Company. This is a family-owned business that he’s going to take a hand on in 5 years.
MountainMan brews just one beer which is MountainMan Lager, also known as "West Virginia's beer" and popular among blue-collar workers. MountainMan Lager is a beer known for its authenticity, quality and toughness. It had a distinctive bitter flavor, slightly higher than average alcohol content and was considered a strong working man’s beer. Beer had certain awards as the “Best beer in West Virginia” for 8 straight years. It was also rated as the “Best beer in Indiana”, “America’s championship lager”, “Best known regional beer” and the “West Virginia beer”. Research had shown that the MountainMan Brewery was as recognizable brand among working class males as Chevrolet or John Deere. Brand had a great role in beer purchasing decision.
Due to changes in beer drinkers' taste preferences, the company is now experiencing declining sales for the first time in its history. As competitors we may observe major domestic producers like Anheuser Busch, Miller BrewingCompany and Adolf Coors Company, accounted for 74% of the market in Mountain Man’s region. The second tier...

...Core Marketing
MountainManBrewingCompany
Bringing the Brand to Light
1. Overview
MountainManBrewingCompany (MMBC, or the Client) is a family-run business in West Virginia that has experienced much growth since launching its flagship premium beer MountainMan Lager (MMB) in 1925. Over the decades, brand loyalty, quality and brand awareness have been the cornerstones of the Client’s success – the importance of the MMBC brand among consumers has allowed the company to build its small but consistent market share in the East Central region (ECR), particularly in its home state, the only region it distributes in (7.1% of the market with more than 50 million USD in revenue).
2. Challenges &amp; Opportunities
* Challenges
MMBC currently faces a potentially identity-changing challenge: The traditional premium beer market has been declining at a compound annual rate of 4%, and MMB experienced a 2% decrease in revenue last year, the first drop in its entire history; accordingly, MMBC’s target aim is to recover from the 2% decrease in revenue that occurred in the prior year.
* Opportunities
The light beer market – popular with younger drinkers – has also been growing at a CAGR of 4%. Although MMBC has been historically weak in the 35-years-and-under segment, there is opportunity to generate...

...﻿Answers 1
There are several factors that have enabled MountainManBrewingCompany (MMBC) to create a strong brand and set itself at par with its competitors. These include: taste, perceived quality, image, tradition, and authenticity.
MountainMan brewery carries a legacy in a mature business.
Recent survey in West Virginia with a 67% response rate rated MountainMan Lager as the “Best Known Regional Beer”
70% consumed at home
Mountain Lager won “Best Beer in West Virginia” for the 8th straight year.
A small percentage of MMBC’s blue-collar customers accounted for a large percentage of sales.
Taste is achieved through a selection of rare Bavarian hops and unusual strains of barley creating a defined MountainMan quality.
Additionally, MountainMan Lagers’ distinctively bitter flavour and higher alcohol content sets this beer apart from its competitors, which uniquely contributes to the company’s brand equity.
MountainManBrewingCompany is able to distinguish its beer apart from its competitors mainly through its high-perceived quality and brand image strongly appealing to West Virginia population where MountainMan Lager is also known as “West Virginia Beer.”
MMBC is also able to distinguish...